Jerry Adair

From SoSH

Contents 1 Overall Career 2 Adair's Moments in the Sun 3 Trivia 4 Transactions 5 External Links 6 Source

Overall Career

Not known as a man with a hot bat, Adair spent 13 years in the majors with a career BA of a .254. His fielding was another story. In 1,165 games (810 games at second base), Adair had the remarkable fielding percentage of .981.

Adair began his major league career with the Baltimore Orioles when they signed him to a $40,000 bonus contract in 1958. Mid-way through the 1966 season, Adair was traded to the Chicago White Sox. This trade led to his just missing out on being a part of the Orioles' World Series win that fall. As luck and trades would have it, Adair was traded from the White Sox to the Red Sox in 1967 where he helped lead the Old Towne Team to the pennant and World Series. From the time he arrived in early June the club, then 22-21, went 70-49. He was invaluable at 2nd, 3rd, & SS, and from June 24th to July 25th filled in for the injured Rico Petrocelli without making an error as the team went 19-9. Always in the middle of things, he was dubbed "Mr. Clutch" for his seemingly numerous heroics during that campaign, the most notable a game winning HR vs. the California Angels on August 20 (see below).

After a sub par season in 1968 (.216 74 games) Jerry was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the expansion draft over the winter. He became the Royals 2nd baseman in 1969 while batting .250, but was abrubtly released early the following season. In 1971 he played for the Hankyu Braves in Japan, batting .300.

In 1972/73 Adair joined his former manager Dick Williams as a coach for the world champion Oakland A's. He remained a coach for the A's under Alvin Dark in 1974, as Oakland won its 3rd straight World Series. In 1975/76 Jerry rejoined manager Williams as a coach for the California Angels.

Jerry Adair died of liver cancer in May of 1987 at the age of 50.

Adair's Moments in the Sun

Holds the Major League record (along with Bobby Grich and Joe Morgan) for fewest errors in a season by a second baseman--(5) in 1964.

Set ML records with 89 consecutive games and 458 chances without an error from July 22, 1964 to May 6, 1965. This while with Baltimore. It is hereby duly noted that in 1964, Jerry Adair did not win the Golden Glove. The award went to Bobby Richardson who had 10 more errors and got to far fewer balls. By the way, Richardson played for the Yankees in 1964.

August 20, 1967, Fenway Park. In the heat of a pennant race the Red Sox are 1 1/2 games back. In the first game of the double-header Adair goes 3 for 3 and the Sox roll over California 12-2. The Angels jump out to an 8-0 lead by the 4th inning in the second game. All hope is lost. But the miracle-season Sox crawl back and thanks to Adair's single in the 6th, tie the game. Jerry's homer in the bottom of the 8th gives the Sox a 9-8 lead. The Sox have scored 9 unanswered runs. Jose Santiago holds off the Angels in the 9th. It was amazing. Jerry Adair’s game winning homer will never be forgotten by those who witnessed this game.

Trivia

• Adair was one tough guy, what we now call a "dirt dog". In 1964, while playing in game 1 of a doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers, Adair was hit in the mouth by a bad throw. The incident resulted in Adair receiving 11 stitches. True to his form, Adair returned to play the second game.

• Jerry was a playmaking guard for two years (1956-58) at Oklahoma State, where he led his team to victories over Wilt Chamberlain's Kansas Jayhawks and Oscar Robertson's Cincinnati Bearcats. In 1958 his team won two games in the NCAA tournament.

• Jerry could have made the all-state Oklahoma high school football team as a quarterback in his senior year (1954). As the rules stipulated that a student could only be represented in one sport, he declined the nomination, hoping he would get the nod for the all-state basketball team instead. At season's end his wish came true, and in the state all-star game that summer he was named outstanding player.

Transactions

• June 13, 1966: Traded by the Baltimore Orioles with John Riddle (minors) to the Chicago White Sox for Eddie Fisher.
• June 2, 1967: Traded by the Chicago White Sox to the Boston Red Sox for Don McMahon and Bob Snow (minors).
• October 15, 1968: Drafted by the Kansas City Royals from the Boston Red Sox as the 51st pick in the 1968 Expansion Draft.
• May 12, 1970: Released by the Kansas City Royals.

External Links

• Baseball-Reference.com - Career Statistics and Analysis

Source

• Bill Nowlin and Dan Desrochers: The 1967 Impossible Dream Red Sox, Rounder Books
• Ken Coleman and Dan Valenti: The Impossible Dream Remembered, Stephen Greene Press